but.... I'm having flashbacks to the Hot Sauce Committee Pt.2 pre-order fiasco where I had to wait months before actually getting my vinyl when I could have just bought it at the store on the release date.

If I pre-order the book (especially since I'm outside the US) am I going to be waiting months to read this thing and kicking myself for not just going to the store?

Is there anyway they can guarantee that it will come in on time?
Even if they can't guarantee the orders coming in on time, can we get a digital copy so we can at least read it while waiting for the hard copy, similar to HSCP2?